Memories, Lost and Found
by Yumemi-chan
Summary: [Chapter 06][SasukeXNaruto] Naruto has lost his memories completely. He remembers nothing about his life as a ninja, nothing about the people in it, and nothing about the sealed Kyuubi. But what caused this memory lapse?
1. Who Are You?

==============================   
  
Chapter 01: Who Are You?  
  
==============================   
  
//Where am I? //  
  
...   
  
//Why does my head hurt?//  
  
...   
  
//So dark...//  
  
...   
  
//Voices... so many voices... so loud...//  
  
I stirred a bit. I could feel a soft bed underneath me, a thick blanket over me, and pillows propping me up.   
  
The whispers subsided and were replaced with small gasps of ¡§... he moved...¡¨  
  
But when I didn¡¦t move, they started up again.  
  
¡§I swear I saw him ...¡¨  
  
¡§Just ... imagination ...¡¨  
  
I groaned slightly, anything to make those voices quiet down. It worked. They hushed. It was so quiet now, I thought they¡¦d all left. Maybe they did. But ... no. I can still hear them breathing.   
  
I made a feeble attempt to open my eyes. It was surprisingly hard, as if someone had super-glued them shut, but after a few tries, I managed to open both eyes. I kept blinking, my eyelids were so heavy, and the feeling of nausea that didn¡¦t go away wasn't helping.   
  
When I could open my eyes freely and focus them at will, I looked straight into the eyes of the voices¡¦ source.   
  
There were at least 10 people in that little hospital room. At least, I THINK it¡¦s a hospital room. They looked relieved and happy.   
  
The nearest person to me was a pink haired girl with green eyes. Next to her was a dark haired boy dressed in blue, and next to them was a silver haired man with one eye. They looked like one of their biggest problems in the world had just been resolved.  
  
When I looked at her, the girl immediately started talking. Babbling, more like. She was talking very fast, and was getting more hysterical by the second. I didn¡¦t really catch her words, but I think she said ¡§baka¡¨.   
  
I think.   
  
I looked past her. There were even more people behind them and surrounding the doorway. Some were standing, some were sitting. They looked happy too. But. . . who were those people? Why are they here? Do I know these people?  
  
Meanwhile, the girl had stopped talking when she noticed that I wasn¡¦t paying attention to her.   
  
¡§Naruto?¡¨ she asked, somewhat carefully, ¡§What¡¦s wrong?¡¨  
  
//Naruto... is that... me?//  
  
I turned, faced her, and said in what I hoped was a polite voice:  
  
¡§I¡¦m sorry, but who are you?¡¨  
  
==============================  
  
When they had been attacked, earlier that week, Kakashi knew that something was wrong.  
  
Of the five ninjas who struck, none of them wore a headband. Secondly, their intent was not to kill, as originally perceived. They had retreated.   
  
In all his years as a ninja, not one of his enemies has run off so quickly. Sure, they¡¦d run if they were beginning to lose, but not a single person, much less a whole group, has ever withdrawn in a time span 5 seconds.   
  
Never.   
  
He immediately glanced around for his students. Sasuke was fine. He was holding a kunai, and didn¡¦t even break a sweat. Typical Sasuke. Sakura . . . she was alright too. Albeit, she was breathing heavily and looked shocked, still she sustained no injuries.   
  
Then, he caught sight of Naruto. The boy was laying face down on the ground, a shocked expression on his face, with unfocused eyes. He was not moving.   
  
Their ¡¥mission¡¦ was aborted, and they immediately rushed him to the Konoha village hospital. There, he had stayed for the past week. They checked up on him every single day, but each day, there was no progress.   
  
He continued to lay like a corpse on that dreaded hospital bed, something that Team 07 had never wanted to see. It contrasted greatly with the usual, hyperactive ninja.   
  
Five days later, however, Kakashi had left Sasuke and Sakura a message at the bridge. It said that Naruto was showing more signs of brain activity and he was twitching his fingers. The last line of the letter said that there was a possibility that Naruto may wake up.   
  
After they read that line, they took off toward to the hospital.   
  
On the way, they encountered Lee¡¦s team. Sakura managed to convince Lee to come along. Lee, on his part, accomplished in persuading his beloved Gai-sensei to come along. Gai, in turn, dragged Neji and TenTen along, insisting that this was a ¡¥team outing¡¦.   
  
Then they met Hinata¡¦s team too and . . .   
  
Long story short, somehow, the original pair, Sasuke and Sakura, succeeded in getting Lee, Gai, Neji, TenTen, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and the Konohamaru Squad to all come with them to go see Naruto.   
  
What was even more miraculous, was how they all squeezed into his room, despite the disapproving glares of nurses.   
  
They were all discussing, rather noisily, ways to wake him up when they heard a rustling of sheets.  
  
It came from him.   
  
They stopped talking. Konohamaru gasped out ¡§He moved!¡¨  
  
They waited for a moment, but when he did not make another sound, they resumed their discussion, saying that it was just their imagination that he moved, in spite of Konohamaru¡¦s insistence.   
  
Then, they heard a small, distinct groan.   
  
This time, they quieted down to the level in which they made no noise at all. The only sound in the room now, was their small, quick breaths.   
  
Just when they thought that Naruto wasn¡¦t going to wake up after all, he surprised them all, and he cracked his eyes open. It was amazing. All of their faces held relief. Some were like Neji, relieved because now he could leave the hospital. But most were because he woke up.   
  
Sakura had immediately pounced on him, yelling at him and saying what a jerk he was for leaving them hanging on the edge with worry like that for so long.   
  
He listened to her politely, as always.   
  
But what the Genins didn¡¦t notice, was the blank look in his eyes when he looked at them. There was no sparkle of recognition. There was no look of happiness that so many people came to see his revival.   
  
There was nothing  
  
His eyes held nothing. They were blank. They were endless pools of blue. Nothing more.   
  
The Jounins caught that look immediately. And it concerned them greatly. Something was wrong.   
  
Then, when Sakura asked him what was wrong, that¡¦s when he opened his mouth and said with politeness that the Naruto they knew and loved would never have been capable of, those ominous words.   
  
¡§I¡¦m sorry, but who are you?¡¨   
  
========== END CHAPTER 01 ==========  
  
Author¡¦s Note: At this moment, I have up to Chapter 04 written. But I still need a pairing. The only official one right now is SakuraXLee. If you don¡¦t like that pairing, well that¡¦s just too bad.   
  
So just write down whatever pairings you want in a review, preferably. I accept het pairings and yaoi/slash. You can vote for more than one pairing, and the polls are open until whenever I put chapter 05 up.   
  
The only person I ABSOLUTELY need a ¡¥partner¡¦ for is Naruto. But otherwise, I don¡¦t care. You can even vote for Kankurro X Sakura if you want. (Although I doubt anyone will because Sakura's already paired up with Lee).   
  
You can vote for anyone. I am (I¡¦d like to think) very open-minded. So . . . Vote.  
  
If you have any questions about this story, or if you have any comments, or if you just want to talk, feel free to email me at: icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com  
  
-Yume 


	2. Leaving the Hospital

==============================  
  
Chapter 02: Leaving the Hospital  
  
==============================  
  
¡§I¡¦m sorry, but who are you?¡¨  
  
As soon as I said those words, I regretted them.   
  
You know all those happy and smiling faces I mentioned before? They were wiped away instantly, and replaced with expressions of shock and horror.   
  
Now I really regret what I said.   
  
¡§You don¡¦t know?¡¨ The girl with pink hair looked like she was on the verge of tears.   
  
Not knowing how to respond, I just shook my head.   
  
There would have been an awkward silence, had not a nurse walk in that very moment. She took one look at me, saw that I was awake, and then proceeded to kick everyone out.   
  
¡§Everyone. Out. Now.¡¨ She said, opening the door and motioning everyone out. ¡§The patient needs his rest. Out. Come visit later.¡¨  
  
When at last the entire group had left, she clicked the door shut and made a clucking sound with her tongue. ¡§Child, you got more visitors in one day than anyone else.¡¨   
  
I smiled hesitantly and nodded my head as she sat down next to the bed to begin her tests. I think that she was waiting for a response, because when I did not answer, she looked at me with concern.   
  
¡§Hey kid, you can still talk right?¡¨  
  
I nodded hurriedly. ¡§Yeah¡¨  
  
She sighed, and went back to her examination. ¡§Good¡¨  
  
She took my temperature, checked my blood pressure, listened to my heartbeat, did something she called a ¡¥Chakra Reading', and looked at me through a magnifying glass.   
  
When she was done, she was still sitting in that chair, looking over my results as if she was hypnotized or something simliar to that. After a while, I was beginning to get restless. Just when I was about to ask her what was wrong with me, she snapped the papers on her clipboard and said, somewhat amazed:   
  
¡§Wow. Even though you¡¦ve been in a coma for five days, you¡¦re perfectly normal. It¡¦s like you¡¦ve never been in the coma at all.¡¨   
  
¡§Does that mean I can leave?¡¨  
  
¡§By all means, yes. Clothes,¡¨ she motioned to a small file cabinet I hadn¡¦t noticed before, ¡§are on top of that. You might want to change before you go anywhere.¡¨   
  
¡§Alright.¡¨  
  
She stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and was about to step outside when---   
  
¡§Oh yea. And kid? I never want to see you here again on the account that you hurt yourself. Got it?¡¨  
  
She winked, then slammed the door shut behind her.   
  
I blinked. //People in this place sure are... different.//  
  
I got out of bed promptly and found out that I was wearing . . . a hospital dressing gown.   
  
A very SMALL hospital dressing gown. It¡¦s so small, I doubt it goes all the way around me. . . nope.   
  
Without delay, I strode over to the file cabinet. And the clothes I found were by far the weirdest array I had ever seen. I think. A black tank that was too small, black pants that were too big, and a black jacket that was just right. And the shoes were weird too. They looked like a cross between boots and sandals.  
  
But while those clothes are definitely not common, it was either that, or the hospital gown that barely goes around me and is tied with a string.   
  
I think I¡¦m going to change.   
  
==============================  
  
Of all the people who came to see Naruto, only the three originals remained. The rest had gone training for whatever reason they became a ninja. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura waited impatiently in the waiting room, not for Naruto, but for ---  
  
¡§Ayame!¡¨  
  
The ¡¥nurse¡¦ who had previously been in Naruto¡¦s room turned at the sound of her voice.   
  
¡§There you are.¡¨ She said, exasperated as she disappeared, and reappeared at Kakashi¡¦s side. ¡§I was wondering where you were. I left the kid telling him that he¡¦s okay to leave. He¡¦ll be coming down here any second, but there¡¦s something you should know about him.¡¨   
  
For this ¡¥nurse¡¦ was no ordinary nurse. She was a Chuunin level ninja who studies in the medical effects of ninjitsu on body parts, especially the brain.   
  
¡§He was hit in two very precise points in the temporal lobe of his brain.¡¨ She said, all in one breath. ¡§It was targeting the areas of the temporal lobe that controls his memory for sight and sound. The effects are immediate after the attack.¡¨   
  
Then, she looked straight at Kakashi and said:   
  
¡§That ¡¥attack¡¦ in your report wasn¡¦t an ordinary attack. It was planned. Someone out there wants Uzumaki Naruto to lose his memories.¡¨  
  
Sakura gasped. Sasuke glared.  
  
¡§What do you mean ¡¥planned¡¦?¡¨ the latter growled.   
  
¡§Well, in the temporal lobe, the memory for sight is at the top, memory for sound is at bottom, and memory for speech is smack dab in the middle. The boy can still talk normally. If someone had just wanted him dead, they would have struck the whole temporal lobe. Not just the top and bottom.¡¨  
  
The two fell silent, thinking, racking their minds for anyone who hated Naruto enough to do such a thing.   
  
¡§Personally,¡¨ Ayame continued, ¡§I think that there is a much deeper motive involved in this. But I will confide it to the Hokage before saying anything ---¡¨   
  
She cut off.   
  
¡§He¡¦s coming.¡¨ She said suddenly. She leaned over, whispered one word to Kakashi, then, without a warning, she disappeared into thin air.   
  
//Always has to make a fancy exit.// thought Kakashi. But what she had said disturbed him.   
  
Just then, Naruto emerged from the top of the staircase.   
  
The flash of recognition in his eyes that had been previously missing indicated that he remembered the three of them from before, when he was in the hospital room.   
  
¡§Hi.¡¨   
  
¡§Yo¡¨ Kakashi said lazily. ¡§You ready to go?¡¨  
  
He blinked. ¡§Yeah.¡¨  
  
They checked out of the hospital, and headed out into Konoha Village.   
  
But still, while maintaining his careless attitude, Kakashi couldn¡¦t stop thinking about the one word Ayame had whispered in his ear.   
  
And that one word?  
  
¡§Kyuubi¡¨  
  
========== END CHAPTER 02 ==========  
  
Author¡¦s Note: Wow! 27 reviews on the first day! (That¡¦s GOTTA be SOME KIND of record.) Thank you EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! Thank you Thank You THANK YOU!   
  
Now, I know I said that I absolutely needed a pairing for Naruto, but that doesn¡¦t mean you can¡¦t vote for anything else. You can vote for KakaIru, or NejiHina. I Don¡¦t CARE. The reason I like this series so much is because of the fact that its¡¦ pairings are so versatile. So . . . I mean it. ANY pairing, as long as he/she isn¡¦t paired up with someone else with more votes.   
  
And the reason I didn¡¦t write the chapters out is because I don¡¦t want to rush this story. I will write one-shots in the future, but this is not a one-shot. This will drag on. For. A VERY long time. So just be prepared to be reading a lot.   
  
Vote. PLEASE. Also, you can send me your votes at my email. (It¡¦s at the bottom of this page). I change my mind. You cannot just vote for ANY PAIRING. You have to vote for a pairing that does not contain Sakura or Lee in it. They are the only official pairing, but then again, they ARE an OFFICIAL pairing. So, no more NaruSaku or SasuSaku votes. Okay?   
  
Once again, if you have any questions about this story, email me at: icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com   
  
-Yume 


	3. Enter Konoha

==============================  
  
Chapter 03: Enter Konoha  
  
==============================  
  
Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke shot occasional glances at their recovered teammate as they walked down the stone road leading to the bridge.   
  
The ¡§Number One Loudmouth Ninja¡¨ was looking at everything with wonder. The people, the shops, the restaurants, the road, and even the mid-morning sun in the sky seemed to be amazing and remarkable to him.   
  
It was as if he had never seen anything like them in his life...   
  
==============================  
  
So many sights. . . so many sounds. . . so many people. . .   
  
//What is this place// I thought, craning my neck to see the signs that adorned a grocery store. //Who are these people? Why where they with me in the hospital room? Why do they act like they know me? And why do they keep looking at me?//  
  
In truth, I didn¡¦t actually SEE them looking at me. I just kind of ... I don¡¦t know. I FELT it. Somehow, I could feel their eyes burning a hole into me. Well, maybe not literaly, but their gazes are pretty intense. But I didn¡¦t look at them. I knew that if I showed even a slight sign of wanting to turn my head, they would look away.   
  
But why? Why were they staring at me like that?   
  
So, I continued to look everywhere, at every shop, at every stone of the ground, in every restaurant. Anywhere but them. Their steady gaze makes me uncomfortable.   
  
We continued to walk down the road through this little. . . village? Settlement? Come to think about it, I have no idea where I am. Where in the world am I? What world am I in? What is normal around here? What---   
  
Just when I was about to ask, the man with the silver hair said: ¡§We¡¦re here.¡¨  
  
¡¥Here¡¦ was just an old red bridge. Nothing special about it, really.   
  
¡§Hey kid.¡¨  
  
I looked at him.  
  
¡§What¡¦s your name?¡¨  
  
Stupid question.   
  
¡§My name is---¡¨ I stopped. And tried again. ¡§My name is...¡¨  
  
I couldn¡¦t continue. This is ridiculous. I didn¡¦t even know my own name. Am I suppose to know my name? Do people go through life not knowing their names? Do they know my name? Does everyone in the world know my name, and I¡¦m the only one who doesn¡¦t?  
  
He sensed my panic.   
  
¡§I thought so.¡¨ He said, sighing. ¡§I¡¦m Kakashi. This is Haruno Sakura,¡¨ Girl-with-pink-hair waved, ¡§And this is Uchiha Sasuke. You are a ninja, I am your sensei, and these two are your teammates. We live in the Konoha Village of the Fire Region. Any questions?¡¨  
  
I blinked. That had been laid on me pretty fast.   
  
¡§I get all that. But...¡¨ I hesitated. Then I said slowly: ¡§What is my name?¡¨  
  
Kakashi-sensei glanced at me. He seemed to be mentally debating whether or not he should tell me what I was called.   
  
¡§Uzumaki Naruto.¡¨ He said finally. ¡§Your name is Uzumaki Naruto.¡¨  
  
//Uzumaki... Naruto//   
  
That name is nothing to me. It triggers no memories. Whoever this Uzumaki Naruto was, whoever I was... he is a mystery to me.   
  
I think Kakashi-sensei could tell that I still knew nothing judging from the blank expression on my face.   
  
¡§It¡¦s alright.¡¨ He stated matter-of-factly. ¡§Your memory will come back in time.¡¨  
  
It will? He sounds so sure of himself. I just wish . . . I could be that sure.   
  
¡§And Kakashi-sensei?¡¨   
  
¡§Hnn?¡¨  
  
¡§What¡¦s a ninja?¡¨  
  
==============================  
  
By late afternoon, the four of them had managed to establish that though his memory was gone, Naruto still retained the agility and physique of the ninja that he was. He had forgotten his hand seals, but he learned quickly under the tutelage of Sakura. In fact, his learning speed seemed to be twice the rate of the ¡¥normal¡¦ Naruto.   
  
What was most uncomfortable about this ¡¥new¡¦ Naruto, was the fact that he was so polite. He referred to Sakura mildly as ¡§Haruno-san¡¨, as opposed to the ¡¥old¡¦ Naruto¡¦s energetic ¡§SAKURA-CHAN!¡¨ He called Sasuke respectfully, ¡§Uchiha-san¡¨. Not jerk, not bastard, not even plain old ¡§Sasuke.¡¨  
  
The two mentioned would mentally cringe whenever Naruto called them that. It just wasn¡¦t HIM. 'HE' had the reputation of having absolutely no regard for the rules and here he was, saying everything in it's respectful "san" and "kun". When Sakura taught him hand seals, he listened closely, and said ¡§Hai, Haruno-san.¡¨   
  
When Sasuke fought him, and got hit, Naruto would say ¡§Gomen nasai, Uchiha-san.¡¨  
  
This sudden change in Naruto¡¦s demeanor was unexpected, and to tell the truth, very uneasy on the two Genins. They wanted desperately to discuss it with Kakashi, but Naruto was still with them, and they could not just dump him somewhere in the village.   
  
Luckily, before they could explode, Lee ¡¥happened¡¦ to stroll by with a message from Sakura¡¦s mother, saying that she would need to come home by 8PM.   
  
She pulled him aside quietly, and asked him to take Naruto to eat, or something that would keep him occupied for the next half-hour. He immediately agreed under the promise that he wouldn¡¦t tell Naruto anything that would be life altering.   
  
He then offered to treat Naruto to a late lunch. It wasn¡¦t very hard, judging by the loud rumbling in his stomach, he was starved.   
  
After he had left, on cue, Sakura and Sasuke looked at Kakashi meaningfully.   
  
¡§You want to know why he¡¦s acting like this.¡¨  
  
They nodded.   
  
¡§Have a seat, and I¡¦ll explain.¡¨  
  
========== END CHAPTER 03 ==========  
  
Author¡¦s Note: WHOA. . . 37 more reviews. O.o . . . and while I was checking my email for reviews, TWO MORE popped up.   
  
Normally, having so many reviews is a good thing. However, this poses a problem. I assure you all right now that I READ EVERY SINGLE review. And usually, I try to answer all of them. But now, there are so many people voting for one coupling, and so many people voting for another coupling, and I read all of the emails, as I said before, everyone has really good opinions that balance each other out. If I just blatantly make it one pairing, then someone else will be offended, or something like that.   
  
So here¡¦s what I¡¦m going to do.  
  
I will make what I call a ¡¥Compensation Story¡¦. It simply means that AFTER THE RELEASE OF CHAPTER 05, if you don¡¦t like the pairing, then you can email me directly, and request another story. It can be of any pairing (the pairing who most people email me for is going to be released first, but I¡¦ll get around to all of them) and can be long, short, whatever. You can even say what you want in the plot, and I¡¦ll give you credit. As I said before, I am very flexible, and do not openly mind any pairings. (Except for VERY WRONG pairings like HokageXKonohamaru .).   
  
I will also NOT be reinforcing any of those ¡§I need so and so more reviews before I am willing to continue.¡¨ No, I LOVE reviews, but I will not use them to blackmail you. If you review, that simply means that you actually like my story enough to review at all. And those reviews, to me, count more.   
  
Another thing I should mention about the ¡¥Poll¡¦ is that your vote can count twice. If you vote for the same pairing in both chapters 01 and 02, then your votes WILL count. I thought I¡¦d just mention that. :-D  
  
Thank you for reading!!! I thank you.   
  
Emails/Question/Comments: icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com  
  
-Yume 


	4. The Effects of the Past

==============================  
  
Chapter 04: The Effects of the Past  
  
==============================  
  
¡§Do the two of you know about Kyuubi?¡¨  
  
The two mentioned shook their heads simultaneously.   
  
Kakashi sighed.   
  
He did not want to be the one to tell them about the secret that has haunted Naruto for all his life. Naruto was supposed to tell them, and he had wanted to, so badly. But then he found out about all the groups like the Akatsuki, who either wanted to revive the Kyuubi, or destroy it. Either way, if he told them, they would be in great danger, and he did not want to put his teammates in that predicament.   
  
So, he had kept quiet, and his Seal remained the only secret he had ever kept to himself.   
  
¡§Let¡¦s just say that his existence seemed to bother the less-than-open-minded villagers in Konoha. He will personally tell you what really happened when he gets his memory back-¡¨  
  
¡§But what if his memory doesn¡¦t come back, and he stays like this forever?¡¨ Sasuke interrupted in his ever-so-calm voice laced with worry. ¡§What if he stays like this forever?¡¨  
  
¡§His memory WILL return.¡¨ Kakashi responded firmly. ¡§And he will NOT stay like this for the rest of his life.¡¨ //He just can't.//  
  
¡§As I was saying,¡¨ Kakashi continued, ¡§His presence bothered these people so much, they decided that maybe if they just ignored him, he would one day just disappear. But he did not. He remained among us, and he was a constant thorn in their side.¡¨   
  
¡§If he had been older, or if he had had parents, or if he had a sibling, then this would not hurt him as much as it did. But keep in mind that we are talking about a child no more than three, and an orphan to boot. I¡¦m pretty sure that even though he doesn¡¦t show it, this feeling of resentment directed at you for reasons you could not comprehend must have pained him deeply.   
  
¡§As I have said before, their eyes are mercilessly cold when they look at you, but do not see you. And because the adults are the ones who set the example, the children followed it.¡¨  
  
Here, Sakura cringed, remembering that she was once one of those children, who hated Naruto simply because her parents and friends did. That she thought he was just a stupid loudmouth kid who would never amount to anything and that the best he could ever be was a waiter at some run-down restaurant.   
  
¡§That is why the Naruto that we know is so noisy and irritating. He has learned, from a young age, that being loud and obnoxious was a way to get people to notice him. That is why he acts the way he does. That is the only reason why he acts like this, and the boy who left here with Lee is living proof of that.¡¨  
  
¡§Huh?¡¨ Sakura asked, and at the same time, Sasuke said: ¡§What do you mean?¡¨  
  
¡§That boy. Tell me how he acts. Is he the Number One Loudmouth Hyperactive ninja? Or is he the most well behaved boy you¡¦ve ever seen? The Naruto you see right there is the Naruto that would be had he grown up with a normal life.¡¨  
  
//That would be Naruto? //  
  
¡§But it doesn¡¦t fit the idiot.¡¨ Sasuke said, almost angrily.   
  
¡§He¡¦s not longer The Idiot, Sasuke.¡¨ Kakashi replied quietly. ¡§I hate to say this, but this boy might as well be a stranger. He doesn¡¦t know us, and we don¡¦t know him.¡¨  
  
¡§Don¡¦t say that.¡¨ Sakura objected angrily. ¡§Naruto is Naruto. This boy is Naruto. So he is still Naruto, whether his nature is good or bad.¡¨   
  
¡§Believe what you want.¡¨ Kakashi said. ¡§But the fact is, that the Naruto we knew is gone. This complicates things by a lot.¡¨  
  
¡§What do you mean?¡¨  
  
¡§Well, Naruto is detested by everyone because of reasons he cannot control. But it doesn¡¦t get to him that much because he has had deal with it every single day in his life. But now he has become a boy far too innocent and naive to be in this world. Which leads me to my next question.¡¨  
  
¡§What?¡¨  
  
¡§Where is he going to live? He can¡¦t just live in his own apartment. He doesn¡¦t know his way around Konoha well enough, and he could get lost easily. I¡¦m not saying he needs to stay at someone else¡¦s house permanently. I¡¦m just saying that he needs a temporary home. Any ideas?¡¨  
  
¡§Well. . .¡¨  
  
========== END CHAPTER 04 ==========  
  
Author¡¦s Note: I have re-edited this chapter (slightly), because of a few people who told me that my reasons for Naruto being ¡¥homeless¡¦ was, in a word, dumb. The reason was because that this chapter was a little rushed. I didn¡¦t know where to start and where to end. And I wrote it at 11 at night, and next week is Exam Week (Yes, I am still in school) so. . . yea, I¡¦m sorry.   
  
Also, I wanted to make it so that Naruto would end up living with his Significant Other.  
  
The next chapter is chapter 05. Which means that in the next chapter, the couplings (all of them) will be revealed. The polls will be open until December 30, 2003. The next chapter will be released on January 01, 2004. This means that you will have up to two weeks at least to get all your votes in. Yes, you can vote four times for more than one couple.   
  
On January 01, I will begin accepting ideas for other stories. EMAIL them to me. DO NOT PUT THEM IN A REVIEW. The ONLY REASON that you can have for putting it in a review, is if you do not have an email. My email is icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com . In your email, please include the character, plot, genre, length and whatever else (quotes, imagery, length, etc.) you want me to include in there. I will dedicate the story to you, and whatever. More details in the next chapter.   
  
Merry Christmas, everyone.   
  
-Yume 


	5. Living Arrangements

ALL THE VOTES ARE IN!!!   
  
Now, before you read the votes, please please PLEASE just read the next paragraphs. (PLEASE!!!!!!)  
  
I know that while some people will be really happy that they got what couple they want, others will be really unhappy because they voted for nothing. So remember what I said a few chapters before, and if you don¡¦t like the coupling, go straight to my Author's profile, and look up the Story Request thing. (What to put, what to send it to me in, etc) Kay?   
  
Also, that you everyone who wished me luck with my exams, wished me a Merry Christmas, and wished me a Happy New Year. They are of the most considerate people ever. Merry Christmas to them to! (I had a list of who said that, but I lost it so . . . -.-. And lastly, I just want to say how happy I am with the turnout. 300 something reviews for 4 chapters and an Author¡¦s Note is REALLY GOOD. REALLY good. Thank you everyone.   
  
NOW. Scroll to the VERY BOTTOM of the page to see who the winner is. And keep in mind . . . this was a very close vote. There was only a 14 vote difference.   
  
==============================   
  
Chapter 05: Living Arrangements  
  
==============================  
  
¡§Well he certainly can't live with me. ¡¨ Kakashi proclaimed proudly. ¡§My apartment isn¡¦t big enough.¡¨  
  
¡§That¡¦s a lame excuse, Kakashi-sensei!¡¨ Sakura yelled indignantly.   
  
¡§But it¡¦s true.¡¨ He responded without a hint of shame in his voice and stature. "I don't have enough room."  
  
¡§Well, I don¡¦t think my mom would allow him to live with us.¡¨ Sakura said regretfully, remembering that her mother had only recently accepted Naruto as her teammate, and not the Demon Fox.   
  
Suddenly, Sasuke spoke up. ¡§He can stay with me. For now.¡¨ Kakashi and Sakura looked at him in surprise. ¡§He¡¦s not staying with you two, and I¡¦m the only person who doesn¡¦t have-¡¨he paused.¡§-someone living with them.¡¨  
  
¡§Okay.¡¨ Sakura said. ¡§But only if you¡¦re sure.¡¨   
  
¡§Yea. I¡¦m sure.¡¨  
  
¡§Alright.¡¨ Kakashi said, his happiness somehow shining through with his one visible eye, which was closed anyhow. He turned and looked around. ¡§Now let¡¦s just go find the two of them and tell him.¡¨   
  
==============================  
  
Meanwhile, halfway across town. . .  
  
¡§HEY! What is this stuff?¡¨ Naruto asked happily, gulping down bowl after bowl of -  
  
¡§Ramen.¡¨ Lee said patiently, while stratedgectly counting his money behind his back. ¡§It¡¦s ramen, and- you really like it don¡¦t you, Naruto-kun.¡¨  
  
¡§Yea! Dis good schtuff.¡¨ Naruto said, finishing his fifth bowl and ordering his sixth. ¡§And I¡¦m starving by the way. Thanks for treating me, Lee-kun.¡¨  
  
¡§Uh-huh. Sure.¡¨ Lee said, putting on a smile that masked his inner worry of not having enough money. //I¡¦m going to run out of money soon!// he thought desperately. //HELP! Sakura-san! Help ANYONE!//  
  
Then, as if his prayers were miraculously answered, he felt a sudden pressure on his back.   
  
¡§Oy, Lee-kun!¡¨   
  
He spun around to look straight into the eyes of his object of affection. ¡§Sakura-san!¡¨ he cried, greeting her ecstatically. ¡§Thank the lord!.¡¨  
  
¡§Happy to see me, Lee?¡¨  
  
¡§Very.¡¨ He lowered his voice to a whisper. ¡§I¡¦m almost out of money. Naruto-kun must really like ramen.¡¨  
  
¡§Some things never change,¡¨ Kakashi said, walking up behind Sakura. ¡§But thanks for your help, Lee.¡¨ He slipped him a twenty. ¡§That should be enough to cover the expenses.¡¨ He added with a whisper.  
  
Meanwhile, Naruto, who hadn¡¦t heard a single word of the exchange between the three of them, continued to scarf down ramen like the world was going to end.   
  
¡§Konnichiwa, Naruto!¡¨ Sakura yelled, straight into the poor, unsuspecting boy¡¦s ear. The mentioned poor, unsuspecting boy jumped about half a mile, choked on his ramen, and then had to have Sasuke pound the living daylights out of him before he could finally gag down his food.   
  
¡§Konnichiwa, Haruno-san.¡¨ He said with a voice still slightly hoarse from the recent dislodging of food. ¡§Ohayo, Uchiha-kun, Kakashi-sensei.¡¨  
  
The mentioned three winced slightly. Manners were never important to the Naruto, and now they would have to make a few. . . adjustments.   
  
==============================  
  
¡§So anyway, this is the bedroom, there¡¦s the bathroom, and the kitchen.¡¨ Sasuke said.  
  
His guest was looking around and poking everything with undisguised wonder. ¡§Uchiha-kun.¡¨   
  
Wince.  
  
¡§Yea?¡¨  
  
¡§Where do I sleep?¡¨ ¡§Uh. . .¡¨  
  
//Why did I agree to this in the first place.// Sasuke thought, mentally berating himself. //Why in the world did I agree to do this, what insanity prompted me to do this, what caused the momentary lapse of lunacy that made him agree to let Naruto stay with him. What did, what did, WHAT DID...//  
  
Then he looked into those big blue eyes that just exploded with innocence.  
  
//Oh yea. That¡¦s why.//  
  
¡§Well, you can sleep in the bed. I¡¦ll just sleep on the floor.¡¨  
  
The big-blue-eyes-that-just-shone-with-innocence blinked. "Hai"  
  
==============================  
  
¡§Ne, Sasuke-kun.¡¨  
  
Sasuke muffled a sigh of exasperation against his pillow. They had worked all night, and despite his repeated attempts to get Naruto to call him ¡§Sasuke¡¨ with no suffixes, he still went and added the respective ending anyhow.   
  
¡§...just... Sasuke.¡¨   
  
¡§Hai... Sasuke.¡¨  
  
¡§What?¡¨   
  
He heard a rustling of sheets.   
  
¡§What are we to each other?¡¨  
  
He rolled over on his front, and looked at the other boy on the bed with wide eyes. The only light source in the small room was a sliver of moonlight that the curtain did not screen. Naruto was on his front, propped up on his elbows, and staring at him intently.   
  
¡§What do you mean?¡¨   
  
¡§Are we friends?¡¨  
  
¡§Why wouldn¡¦t we be?¡¨   
  
¡§Well. . .¡¨ Naruto said, looking down on his pillow, ¡§I don¡¦t know. . . You act all funny around me. It¡¦s like. . . you don¡¦t know me well enough to be comfortable around me.¡¨  
  
//This is going to be a long night.// Sasuke thought, as he proceeded to inform the younger boy of their association.  
  
==============================  
  
The next morning, I woke up feeling something warm pressing against my front-side. Something. Warm. Pressed. Against. Me. //Naruto must¡¦ve fallen off the bed.// I thought to myself groggily.  
  
I cracked an eye open... and froze. It turns out the situation is more awkward that I thought... suddenly I¡¦m very thankful for that lock on my door.   
  
Naruto is... hugging me. Worse yet, he¡¦s still wearing that black tank. He¡¦s really close to me. Do you know, how CLOSE he is to me? He is... clinging. That¡¦s a good word. Clinging. He is clinging to the front of my shirt. Did I mention that he is very close. I think that the only part of his body that¡¦s not touching me is his backside.   
  
Crap. Crap. CRAP.  
  
I want to get up, but at the same time, I don¡¦t want to wake him... oh well. I can stay like this for a little while longer...  
  
Who am I kidding.  
  
I wiggle slightly, hoping he'll stay asleep long enough for me to get out of bed. No such luck.   
  
He woke up, eyes blinking slowly.   
  
Crap. Crap. Crap.   
  
"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun."  
  
CRAP!!!  
  
========== END CHAPTER 05 ==========  
  
Okay, pure fluff. I know. But that¡¦s the best I will do in this story, I¡¦d rather not change the rating. So... PG this story will remain.   
  
Oh yea, and the winner thing? The ¡¥Other Winners¡¦ mentioned are the only other coupling I¡¦d do. Like, those are the only possible couplings I would do... nevermind. .  
  
WINNER: Naruto X Sasuke  
  
OTHER WINNERS: Kakashi X Iruka / Shikamaru X Ino / Kiba X Hinata / Jiraiya X Tsunade / Konohamaru X Hanabi  
  
Once again, emails, comments, complaints, anything: icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com  
  
-Yume 


	6. One Week Later

==============================  
  
Chapter 06 : One Week Later...  
  
==============================  
  
"Konnichiwa, Sakura-chan!"   
  
Sakura couldn't help but allow a smile grace her face. Finally, after an entire week, Naruto had began calling her Sakura-chan, and not Haruno-san.   
  
"Konnichiwa, Naruto." She responded. "Konnichiwa, Sasuke." She added as Sasuke walked up behind him.   
  
He grunted a response.   
  
In the past, she would have persisted in badgering him on what was wrong. In the present, she'd usually whack him on the head for being so disrespectful. But she got a good look at the bags under his eyes and restrained herself from doing so, reminding herself to ask him about that later on.   
  
Over the course of the week, Naruto had learned the basic pattern of his life. Wake up, eat, go to the bridge, and complete the ''mission for the day', go 'home', eat, go to sleep, and then resume the cycle.   
  
Apparently, impatience was in Naruto's nature. Already, he had began asking about new missions and when they were going to start it. The look on Kakashi-sensei's face when he asked "When are we going to do something NEW, Kakashi-sensei?" last evening was hilarious. Or rather, the act of his eye widening to incomprehensible lengths was hilarious.   
  
Clearly, he didn't think that the new, more mild mannered Naruto would be as impatient as the old one.   
  
He had managed to get some lame excuse out before promptly excusing himself from the company of his students.   
  
//Maybe Kakashi-sensei will actually have a mission that exhausts chakra today.// Sakura thought.   
  
==============================  
  
"...after that, we'll need to find the Lord of the Fire Country's Wife's cat again."   
  
Sasuke rubbed his temples. He didn't need to see Naruto and Sakura's expressions to know how extremely pissed off they'd have to be. Either the Lord of the Fire Country's wife had too much money to spare by having SHINOBI find her STUPID CAT, or she enjoys giving them pointless tasks.   
  
First they'd have to shop for her, then they'd have to take out her garbage, which wasn't funny because Garbage Pick-Up Days were the worst, and then they'd have to find her stupid cat which ran away EVERY FEW DAYS. Not only that, but it was the THIRD TIME this WEEK.   
  
Why can't the Lord of the Fire Country's Wife just buy a new cat for herself? Preferably one with no legs so it wouldn't have the oppurtunity to run away.   
  
"That cat again?" Naruto complained, "Can we just accidentally kill it and buy her a new one?"  
  
Wow. Now Naruto was a mind reader.   
  
"I would have done that already if I could." Kakashi replied, turning to go. "But none of you heard those words from MY mouth so it doesn't matter anyhow. Let's go."  
  
==============================  
  
"Ow, ow, OW!" She cringed as Naruto nursed the three parellel diagonal slashes across her arm. "It stings!"   
  
"Gomen ne, Sakura-chan." Naruto said apologetically as he handed her the bandages.   
  
Miraculously, he was the only person who came out unscathed along with the damned cat. Oh well. The cat got his punishment for running away when they handed him over to the Lord of the Fire Country's wife. Now Fatty isn't so fat anymore, she squeezed the living daylights out of it. If only she could take a needle and prod the cat a few times in the legs, enough to make it crippled for life. Yes... kill... the cat...  
  
Sakura snapped out of her mental torture and disfiguration of the orange kitty long enough to see Naruto beginning to wrap Sasuke up. Along with that, she also caught sight of Sasuke's odd body language such as the faint blush that spread out from the center of his face, and was currently making it's way toward his ears.   
  
//Can it be?// Sakura wondered. //Sasuke...//   
  
==============================  
  
As some of you may have guessed, Sasuke was indeed having a small bout of insomnia, which led to his poor performance in his mission today. His reason? Ever since Naruto's first night at his house, the night he fell off the bed, Sasuke had been a bit... paranoid about that happening again.   
  
It didn't help that it happened again on the second night, and even though he had managed to get Naruto back into bed without him waking up, and even though it hasn't happened since the second night, he had suffered from sleeplessness. He had tried to berate himself, thinking, //If you don't get any sleep, you'll end up with lines around you eyes, just like Gaara.//   
  
Big mistake. Now he was forced to think about Gaara and that only managed to increase his insomnia.   
  
==============================  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Fire Country, a group of 7 were secretly gathered in a small, dark clearing. They were still, silent, and appeared to be waiting for something. Or someone.   
  
Finally, the one presumed to be the leader spoke up. "You two are late."  
  
Out of nowhere, suddenly, two masked ninjas were standing in the unoccupied space.   
  
"Did you succeed?" the 'leader' asked.   
  
"Yes, sir." The two said, pulling off their masks, revealing the faces of Uchiha Itachi, and his partner, Kisame.   
  
"Excellent." said the Leader. "The full effects should be setting in soon. Then, we'll move in."  
  
========== Chapter 06 End ==========  
  
A/N: I'm back, everybody! If you would like to know where i have been for the last... month or so, please email me, i'd love to rant and get this anger off my back. :-D  
  
icy_cloud359@kuririnmail.com  
  
-Yume 


	7. Last Note

This will be one long Author's note explanation on why I haven't updated. Please read the entire thing before yelling at me.  
  
I have a very good and valid reason as to why I'm not updating anymore. I am one of the many people in the world diagnosed with a terminal heart disease. I've known for the past year, but the disease has worsed rapidly since then. It's now reached a stage in which it's absolutely unhealable. I'm in my homeland right now to enjoy life while I can.  
  
I've thought about disappearing like many other fanfiction authors out there, but I've found that I just couldn't do that, not without a valid reason, so that's why I'm writing this up. You don't need to leave a review nor do you need to email me since I'm shutting down my email after I post this letter.  
  
I'm so sorry to everyone who has been supporting me in this. Everyone here has made my writing fanfiction experience magical and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.  
  
To Claire Selene: The person I'm most sorry towards is you. You were the first friend I made when I started writing around a half a year ago and I'll never be able to repay what you've done for me. You were an excellent beta reader and an excellent friend. Thank you so much. I'm sorry for not responding to your emails, but I couldn't tell you that I was sick 'like that' because I wanted to keep my online life and personal life seperate. Now I find I can't do that anymore and I'm so sorry.  
  
To Pyr00t: You are the one who always motivated me to write at all and you were also one of the two people who emailed me to tell an amateur writer that you enjoyed my work. Thank you, and I'm sorry for never getting around to finishing the last chapter.  
  
To Everyone who requested a story: I talk big, but I never got around to doing those for you guys. I didn't have the time and I hope you understand.  
  
Lastly, my final note to everyone is, once again, to apologize for never finishing. If by any chance a miracle happens and a cure is discovered, I'll continue this story and my schooling. Otherwise, this is goodbye. Thank you.  
  
-Yume 


End file.
